Wanderlust
by BookBoozer31
Summary: Camille met Ben Matheson and his children in Wisconsin and helped build the village. When he gets shot, she vows to help Charlie find Miles Matheson and get Danny back. Though she starts out on a quest against Sebastian Monroe and the Monroe Republic, once she actually meets the man, things become a little hazy and lines become blurred between right and wrong for Camille.


_Author's note: _Hey, guys! I just wanted to say thank you for reading and reviews are much appreciated! This first chapter is just background to Camille and where she was when the Blackout happened. I hope you enjoy!

_**Wanderlust - (n.) A strong desire or urge to wander or travel and explore the world. **_

When the Blackout hit, Camille was trekking along the Appalachian Trail somewhere in Virginia with two friends. They were days away from the town they were going to stop at, Pearisburg, VA.

_Day of the Blackout, September 17, 2012_

As Jaime and I sat around the fire, I remembered I needed to call my parents and give them an update on how the hiking was going. I pulled it out of my pack and pressed the lock button to turn it on: nothing happened.

I pressed the lock button on my iPhone again and again, "Guys, I don't know how, but my phone must have run out of battery."

Jaime looked up at me from the fire, "Yeah, mine's out, too."

I gave a _humph_ sort of noise and started to pull a pot and utensils out of my pack to prepare dinner.

Blair shot out of the tent fuming, "My phone is dead and none of the flashlights or headlamps are fucking working. What am I supposed to do when I have to go pee? Take a chance that a spider's gonna crawl up my ass?"

I cocked an eyebrow at her, "Did you replace the batteries?"

"Of course I replaced the fucking batteries, none of them will fucking work," she snapped.

I put my hands up in surrender, "Okay, sorry."

Jaime stood up from his squat and went over to Blair, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Babe, just chill. I'm sure they just got wet or something, we'll be at the next town in a few days, we can live without some flashlights for a few nights. I'll even go with you when ya' do your business."

Blair looked down and nodded slowly, eventually smiling and pulling him into a hug.

Gagging sounds bubbled up from my throat as Blair and Jaime's faces got closer, "Guys, we share a tent, keep it in your pants until we're in a motel." Blair giggled and plopped down in front of the fire as I continued to make the food.

_Six Days Later_

"I see the town! We're nearly there!" Jaime shouted back at Blair and me.

"Fucking finally, I'm so ready to take a smokin' hot shower with my smokin' hot man," Blair said with a wink. I replied with a deep frown.

As we grew closer to the town, it was easier to see details, like the abnormal amount of stopped cars on the road. We all shared a look and picked up our pace. When we came to the road, it was clear that no one was in the cars, no one was in sight.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?" I puffed out.

"I have no clue…" Jaime trailed off as we came to the actual town.

Pearisburg was a quaint, small town by the looks of it. Old brick buildings, antiquated store signs, parked cars, but no people. The windows to a bunch of the shops were busted in, it looked like the whole place had been robbed.

Jaime jogged up to one of the shops and yelled through the broken window, "HELLO? IS ANYONE IN HERE?" When he got no reply, he moved to the next store and did the same thing.

I ran up to him, "What the hell are you doing? What if robbers hit this town or something and they're still here?"

He looked at me, awareness lighting up his eyes, "You're right." He walked over to one of the stores and crawled in through the window, motioning for us to do the same, "Come on, we'll wait in here and see if anyone comes."

Blair and I followed after him. It read _John's Convenient Store_ on the sign outside, but it looked like mostly everything was gone, except for things like make-up, some soda, and a ton of batteries. "Hey, Blair, I wonder if there's any flashlights in here, look around," I whispered while I went through the store.

"I found some," I heard her whisper. I came over with a pack of batteries and took the packaged flashlight from her. I was about to take the plastic off when she put her hand on mine, "What are you doing? Isn't that stealing?"

I looked at her and smirked, "It's not stealing if no one's around to catch you. Plus, look around, everything else is gone, no one cares about a flashlight and some batteries." After opening them, I popped the batteries in and flipped the switch on; nothing happened. I flipped the switch on and off, still getting nothing. "That's kind of strange," I mumbled.

Jaime came over, "What's strange?"

I looked up to see him with his pocket knife in hand, I motioned to it, "They probably have guns if they rushed a whole town out."

He shrugged, "Better than nothing. So, what? Does the flashlight not work?"

"Yeah, fresh out of the packaging, too. I don't understand."

"Camille, don't you think someone would've called the police or something if the whole town had been robbed?"

"Well, yeah, but...I don't know. I have no clue what the hell is going on."

"Guys, come look at this!" Blair whispered and waved us over. She had moved to the broken window and was crouched down next to it. "Look right there. There's some people in that building," She pointed to the red brick building across the street. On the second floor, it looked like two people moving around. One moved closer to the window and we all ducked down further. It was an old woman.

I looked at Jaime and Blair, "I say we go and knock." Before they could stop me, I had hopped out of the broken window and was strolling up to the store door. I knocked a few times and waited. After about 30 seconds, I cupped my hands and looked through the glass door. It was obviously an antique store, it looked like the place was pretty untouched. "Weird that the robbers wouldn't hit up the antique stores…" I murmured to myself. I tried the door: locked. So I rapped on it a few more times. Finally I saw some movement, it was an old man with a gun.

"Shit," I sighed, and backed away from the door with my hands up.

He came close to the door, gun pointed straight at me, "We can't help you, go somewhere else!"

"Sir, my two friends and I have been hiking for the past six days, we have no supplies left, and have no clue what's going on. Where is everyone?" I asked, trying to sound as calm and innocent as possible.

"The power's out, girl! That's what happened! Ain't comin' back on either! _Now get!_"

"Sir, please! We have no food left, our phones are dead, _please_!"

He unlocked the door, shuffled outside, and shot his gun into the air, making me squat down with my hands over my head, "Get the fuck out'a here, or I'll put a bullet in ya'!"

I looked back to my friends, who had come out of the convenient store, and were shaking their heads and motioning for us to go. With my hands still up, I said, "Okay, sir, we're leaving. Thanks for nothing." I jogged back to Jaime and Blair. Together we all booked it down the street and around the corner.

"You scared the shit out of me!" Blair yelled and punched me in the arm. "_Seriously_? What were you thinking? I can't believe you even tried to talk to him when you saw he had a gun!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it was stupid, I figured they would be nice because they were old. We have bigger things to worry about, though. If the power really is out, then we don't really have any way of reaching anyone. We should start looking through the stores for food that hasn't already been taken."

"Then what?" Jaime asked.

"Then I guess we find the interstate, see if we can find anyone with a car, or something. Try to find people? It's not like I have a plan for this. We're winging it at this point."


End file.
